US 80. Exit 19; turn right on Route 517 and then very
quickly a left following the sign that says Johnsonburg (Route
612). Turn right onto Route 519 (either in town or earlier
by taking the bypass -- Hope Johnsonburg Road). Turn left
onto Route 661 (or if you took the bypass just go straight) and
travel one mile to Route 94. Turn left onto Route 94.
Travel 1.9 miles and turn right onto Route 659 (the sign
says Stillwater) . Drive 1.2 miles. (You will pass a
hiking spot for Paulinskill Valley Trail.) Turn right onto
Stillwater Road (Route 521) and travel 0.4 mile to a right turn
into the park.

A better parking area for about 6 to 8 cars is on the right
just after the pull-off on the left for the Paulinskill Valley
Trail. You walk northeast and will pass the remains of the
walls of a lime factory.

History:

Here is an abandoned railroad spur of the New York,
Susquehanna and Western Railroad that transported ice blocks from
White Lake to a local creamery.

Near White Lake itself are the remains of a marl works. Marl
is a soft, calcium-rich limestone clay. The marl was dredged out
and processed to make cement and fertilizer. This business failed
in 1900.

Up along the ridges are the remains of a lime kiln. Here are
keyhole-arched kilns. In these kilns alternating layers of wood
and limestone were set ablaze which eventually produced a calcium-rich
powder that was hydrated and loaded on wagons to be taken to
farms where it was spread on fields.

In the woods are the ruins of a 1950s Girl Scout camp.

History of the old Vass homestead:

On the north shore of White Lake stands a 200 year old farmhouse made from
cut limestone that is the source for a very interesting history written by Frank
Dale.

1764 -- one of the early settlers in the Hardwick area was German immigrant
Johann Wass (known as John Vass). Starting out adult immigrant life being
indentured to a Hardwick citizen, he worked his way upwards. He had a total of 4
wives and 13 children.

1802 -- the 38-year-old Vass buys a 550 acre farm on White Lake. They lived
in a log cabin.

1879 -- Isaac Vass, son of John and Margaretta, owns the house. Isaac
served as tax collector and Justice of the Peace. The Knickerbocher Ice Company
of Pennsylvania buys a piece of the lakefront to produce ice. In summer they
processed the marl from the lake for use as fertilizer and also in cesspools.
Soon it was used to make cement. For a brief period the Newark Sanitary and
Manufacturing Company mined marl here.

The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad passed just south of White Pond
and a spur ran to the cement plant.

1893 -- Isaac's son, Frank, purchased the farm from his mother after his
father's death. The Waterloo Ice Co. and the Brady Ice Company took over
operations at the lake.

1922 -- Frank Vass sells his property to local farmer George Van Riper, who
converted the farm to a dairy operation.

1958 -- Peter and Nicholas Kero, quarry owners and paving contractors, buy
the farm for their Kero-Hardwick Corporation. In the summer they vacationed
here and hunted deer and bear in the fall. They eventually sell to the Curtiss-Wright
Corporation, who in turn sold to the Metal Improvement Company.

1997 -- the property was acquired by a combination of the Ridge and Valley
Conservancy, Green Acres, Warren County, and foundation groups, deeding
ownership to the Conservancy and the State of New Jersey.

1999 -- property listed by the National Register of Historic Places.

Skylands website:
http://www.njskylands.com/hswhitelake.htm

PLANT LIST:

Karl Anderson

Plants noted during a 1998-1999 Botanical
inventory of the 390 acres of the White Lake Natural Area that is
east and south of Stillwater Road, for the Ridge and Valley
Conservancy, with some additions from a Torrey Botanical Society
field trip on September 23, 2000 and observations by Ted Gordon,
Linda Kelly, William Standaert and Patrick Cooney. Flowering and
fruiting dates mostly from Patrick Cooney and William Standaert.

Scientific nomenclature is generally per
Gleason & Cronquist, Manual of Vascular Plants of
Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada - Second Edition (New
York Botanical Garden, 1991).

English names from a variety of sources.

(Fl .) indicates observed flowering dates.

(Fr .) indicates observed fruiting dates.

Note: Species frequency definitions are
somewhat subjective, but in general an abundant species is one
that is present and easily found in all areas of suitable habitat,
and areas of its habitat are extensive. A common species is one
that appears to be present at low density in all areas of
suitable habitat, but may require some searching; or, plant may
be present in good numbers but in only a few locations. An
uncommon species is one that is not present in all areas of
suitable habitat, but has more than ten individuals or small
stations. An occasional species is one for which fewer than ten
individuals or small stations were noted. Habitats listed for
species are those most typical for the species, or the habitat in
which a particular species was actually found , and not
necessarily all the habitats in which a species occurs.

The trip to the white marl pond in the vicinity of Squires
Corner proved to be one of the most productive and interesting of
the Club's field expeditions this year. Britton's Catalogue (1889)
mentions many limestone species present at White Pond in 1884,
according to Porter. Every species mentioned in the Catalogue
that might be expected to be in flower at this season was
observed by the group. Among the limestone species noted were the
following: Cystopteris bulbifera, Pellaea atropurpurea, Asplenium
ebenoides, A ruta-muraria, Carex flava, C cryptolepis,
Rhynchospora capillacea, Salix candida, S. serissima, Waldsteinia
fragarioides, and Lobelia kalmii. Other species included Phlox
subulata, Sarracenia purpurea, Zanthoxylum americanum, Ipomoea
pandurata, and Potentilla fruticosa. A species of Eleocharis
rooting after the manner of Eleocharis rostellata but too far
past the fruiting stage to identify awaits recognition on a trip
which is planned for next season.